Summary of the project

Building on this legacy, JHF launched the Women’s Health Activist Movement Global (WHAMglobal) in late 2016. WHAMglobal forms networks of advocates and experts in women’s health and wellness to improve healthcare delivery and outcomes, equity, and leadership. WHAMglobal aims to inspire regional, national, and international advocacy and action to advance women’s health, healthcare quality and safety, health professions workforce development, and pay equity. WHAMglobal is supported by JHF and the Heinz Family Foundation, and was founded by JHF President and CEO Karen Wolk Feinstein, PhD. In 2018, it became a Pennsylvania non-profit corporation.

WHAMglobal is focused on uncovering and advancing “big ideas” that creatively tackle urgent women’s health issues, unite communities around a shared goal, and hold the promise of being expanded to other communities. During its first full year, WHAMglobal identified its first big idea: addressing the unacceptably high maternal mortality rate in the U.S.—a rate that is nearly three times higher than in any other developed nation. Community health workers (CHWs) will play an integral role in this effort, by educating and empowering mothers and helping them to navigate complex medical and social service systems. (speakers’ series and networking events with women’s health leaders. Kate Dickerson, MSc, was hired to advance the WHAMglobal network. WHAMglobal is also working to expand the CHW model to other immigrant and refugee communities in the Pittsburgh region.

To further build the network and provide strategic direction, WHAMglobal is developing local, national, and international advisory committees with clinical, cultural, and policy skills related to women’s health and CHW development. WHAMglobal is also partnering with women’s health leaders from around the U.S. and globe, including the Women of Impact and the International Women’s Forum, to address the issue of maternal mortality.;